Palestinian Village of Bil'in Celebrates Four Years of Struggle Against the Apartheid Wall

On February 20th, the Palestinian Village of Bil'in celebrated four years of weekly protests against the Apartheid Wall. The village of Bil'in has fought for four years against the Apartheid Wall. The wall steals much of the villagers' land and is part of the Israeli plan to divide Palestine into tiny pieces. Many villagers, journalists, foreign and Israeli activists, and even politicians attended the anniversary.

The day started with prayers in the mosque. More than 500 people marched to the Wall. The Apartheid barrier is called the Wall, but in this location it is made up of two rows of razor wire, a trench, two fences, and an access road. The fence not only takes up a swath of Palestinian land, but allows Israeli soldiers to control access to the land on the other side at all times. Demonstrators marched to the fence and several people opened a gate. The soldiers were ready on the other side and fired tear gas. Many people ran away, but others moved closer.

In Ni'ilin, a neighbor village that is also affected by the building of the wall, in addition to using tear gas, concussion grenades, and rubber coated steel bullets, Israeli forces opened fire throughout the day with live ammunition. The Israeli Army uses a special low-powered bullet, formerly claimed to be non-lethal. The bullets, however, have killed several Palestinians, and are commonly used by snipers at demonstrations in Ni'ilin. By the end of the day, four young men were taken to the hospital after they being shot by live bullets.
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